The alkyl or alkenyl sulfate salts have surface-active properties, and the sodium salts of dodecyl sulfate (lauryl sulfate), tetradecyl sulfate (myristyl sulfate), and hexadecyl sulfate (cetyl sulfate) are particularly useful surfactants for many applications. Sodium lauryl sulfate, for example, is widely used in topical creams, lotions and other preparations used for pharmaceutical or cosmetic purposes. A mixture of sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium myristyl sulfate is used commercially as a wetting agent, primarily in the paper industry. It is well known that surfactants may denature proteins when present in aqueous solutions in sufficient concentrations because the surface activity may affect peptide conformation. Sodium n-tetradecyl sulfate does not show classical spermicidal activity in standard in vitro tests which measure the ability of the compounds to kill or immobilize sperm.
The straight chain C.sub.11-16 alkylsulfonates are available commercially in the form of the sodium salt, which are preferred for the purposes of this invention. Other salts can be prepared by methods well-known in the art.